Ryan McAdams

Equally at home in the world of opera, symphonic repertoire and contemporary music, American conductor Ryan McAdams has established a presence on both sides of the Atlantic. A contemporary music advocate, Ryan is the Principal Conductor of the Crash Ensemble, Ireland's foremost contemporary music group. Together they regularly perform at the National Concert Hall’s New Music Dublin Festival and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. 

Recent career highlights include returns to the Orchestre National de Ile de France in Paris, Belgian National Orchestra, Istanbul State Orchestra, and Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo, as well as debuts with the orchestra of the Teatro Filarmonico Verona and Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele.

McAdams was the first-ever recipient of both the Sir Georg Solti Emerging Conductor Award and the Aspen-Glimmerglass Prize for Opera Conducting. He was a Conducting Fellow at Tanglewood and an Assistant Conductor at the Aspen Music Festival, and the post of Apprentice Conductor at Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival was created for him. As a Fulbright scholar, he served as Apprentice Conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, assisting then Chief Conductor Alan Gilbert. Ryan studied at the Juilliard School and Indiana University.